Plastic containers can be utilized to store a wide variety of items. One type of plastic container is used in a hot-fill process where heated food contents are deposited into a container base without significant prior cooling. The container can then be hermetically sealed for storage and transportation purposes using a flexible foil cover. Due to the heat of the contents, the foil cover can initially expand outwardly. As the contents cool, however, the foil can contract at least partially into the container base so that it has a concave configuration. Moreover, as the contents cool, a vacuum can develop within the container, which can pull the foil cover inward. A plastic lid can also be removably secured to the container base before or after hermetic sealing. As such, the residual heat from the contents can heat the material of the container base and lid making it softer and more prone to deform and stretch. When another container is stacked an top of the container and, more specifically, onto the container lid before the contents have had a chance to cool, the weight of the stacked container can undesirably stretch and can cause permanent deformation of the container lid, which can detract from consumer appeal.
Furthermore, many tubs have a circular footprint. When circular containers are stacked, it can be difficult to quickly and accurately align the containers in a uniform stack and even more difficult to uniformly align any labeling thereon. This problem can also extend to containers having oval or other shaped footprints where there is no structure for aligning the containers with respect to one another. Haphazard stacking and labeling can also undesirably detract from consumer appeal.